Made For Each Other, Carrots In Coconut Milk

   The first thing most people don't think about when it comes to carrots is coconut milk. Cinnamon, check. Cardamom, check. Nutmeg, check. Almost anything, check. But, coconut milk? Not really. Carrots have a reputation for being sweet, which was one reason they weren't a big favorite of mine growing up. Too many helpings of mashed carrots with cinnamon, butter or grated orange zest, sent me running from this vegetable. I am not an icky sweet girl.
   Coconut milk also has a rep for sweetness and richness, and carrots are a sugary tasting vegetable and why the hell would anyone want to put these two things together? I mean if we were talking Match Dot Com people here, there'd be "hair on the walls" as a cop friend of mine used to say. But you know how all those romantic comedies or rom-coms, as we call them go. She's all kittens and butterflies and you complete me, and he's all gruff and grumpy and they hate each other and would almost kill each other, and then suddenly they're trapped in an elevator or something and all those contradictions go out the window and we see what we never saw before, that they are made for each other. Well, that's kind of the way it works with carrots and coconut milk, except without the Renee Zelwegger/ Sandra Bullock factor.
   I really didn't intend to serve this dish at my Oscar Party Indian Banquet, but I found some carrots at the farmers' market and they were cheap and well, I just had to have them. And then on the day of the dinner, I wasn't in a cauliflower state of mind and I saw those carrots, and well... I had to cook them.
   The dish I made is a Sri Lankan recipe that originally is made with beets. In fact here's the recipe for that version here. But as I learned, the same recipe can be used with carrots also. Actually, this isn't any great discovery. Most vegetable dishes can be twisted upside down inside out and made to adapt to whatever you're trying to cook. So about those carrots...

Carrots In Coconut Milk

Here's what to do:
Peel and julienne slice 2 lbs of carrots, then set them aside.

 In a skillet or kadhai heat 1 Tbs of sesame oil.
When the oil is nice and hot toss in:
  4 curry leaves

 2 Tbs of finely chopped, seeded green serrano or jalapeno chilies
 3 Tbs of finely chopped shallots

 Stir them around for about 3 minutes or so then add in the carrots

 2 tsps of rice vinegar
 1 tsp of salt
 1/4 tsp of sugar
Stir everything up again for another 2 or 3 minutes or so.
Meanwhile mix together:
 1/2 cup of coconut milk
 1/4 cup of water
And pour it all into the pan with the carrots.

Bring the whole thing to a boil, then pop a lid on it and turn down the heat to simmer. Let it all cook together till the carrots are ready in about 20 minutes or so.

When everything is nice and tender stir in:
 1/4 cup of coconut milk
 4 curry leaves
Bring it all up to a boil again, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for an additional 3 minutes.

Check it all for seasoning. If you want, you might sprinkle a little coarse sea salt over the dish, scatter a bit of chopped fresh cilantro over the top and serve it up.

   So there you have it, a creamy dreamy romance of carrots and coconut milk that will make even a fairly hardened carrot shunner (me) actually enjoy this vegetable.
   Meanwhile, the waffle saga continues.This weekend I'll be trying a new recipe for coconut flour waffles and this one has pumpkin! After that I'll be doing a give away of some of Tropical Traditions' great organic coconut flour, so follow along on Twitter @kathygori 

Sweet And Simple "No Cook" Carrot Salad For A Hot Summer Lunch.

 
    When I named my website The Colors of Indian Cooking I was thinking about the colors of the many, many spices used in this cuisine, from the gold of turmeric, the deep crimson of kashmiri chili, the sable browns of cumin and coriander and the vivid yellow-orange of saffron. As it turns out, the colors that have been turning up have been the colors of Indian vegetables. These vegetables aren't necessarily Indian, but since they're used in Indian recipes, just roll with me here.
  It all started with the blue beans I found at the farmers market. Once I started with that, I was out to discover what else might be out there. That's when I discovered carrots didn't just come in orange.

       Yellow carrots! There they are sitting next to my gorgeous purple cauliflower which is a whole other story. I had to have them! All of them!
     I couldn't wait to cook them and decided that I needed to invite others over to share the colorful veggie wealth. I planned a Summer Sunday Indian Brunch.
   One of the best things about Summer in Sonoma is the entertaining.  A lot of the time it can involve indoor picnics in the Summer as it can get too hot to be outdoors on some days. This Summer however has been unusually cool. We had a longer, cooler wetter winter and this Summer has been pretty mild if not downright cold some days. This last Sunday however was perfect, sunny and warm with a gentle breeze. Exactly right for dining on the deck overlooking the neighbors' vineyard.
   I gathered a bunch of brightly colored vegetables and a bunch of bright friends and decided to see what would happen when I put them all together. I settled on a menu of about 4 dishes. One of the first invloved my lovely yellow carrots.
  I was a little scared using them as I was afraid they'd revert back to orange the same way my blue beans turned green the minute they were cooked. The I remembered. these carrots weren't going to be cooked. This was an easy to fix, fast, raw salad, a twist on the Indian cabbage salad that I make all the time. This is what to do:
   In a food processor, shred about 1 lb of peeled carrots (yellow if you can get them!)

When the carrots are shredded place them in a bowl and set them aside. Add in 2 and 1/4 cups of chopped fresh tomato. I used red tomatoes, because that's what I had, but if you've got green or purple  that would be so cool!    

  Now for the fun. Add in:
  1/2 cup of peanut powder
  1 tsp of salt
  1 tsp of sugar
  1 and 1/2 Tbs of fresh lemon juice
And finally I blended in 2/3 of a cup of Tropical Traditions' amazing shredded coconut. Ever since they sent me a sample to try in my Indian cooking I have been having a ball with it. I put in in nearly everything I can.

  Give these ingredients a mix and then set it all aside.

 Now for "The Dressing".
In a small pan heat 2 tbs of vegetable oil. I used more Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil since they've sent me some of that too and since there was coconut in the salad, I wanted even more coconut flavor in the "dressing".
 *A little note about that "dressing." It's not really dressing; it's more of what Indian cuisine calls a Chaunk, a mixture of spices and seasonings bound in a hot oil and then added to food before serving.
  So back to the hot oil. When it's heated toss in:
  1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
When the mustard seeds start to pop, add in:
  1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
  1/4 tsp of turmeric
  1 Tbs of fresh green chili seeded and chopped finely.
Once the other things are added give them a stir or two and then take them off the heat. You're done.
  Pour the oil and spices over the carrots and tomatoes and all the rest of it.
    Scatter 3 Tbs of chopped fresh cilantro leaves over the salad give it all a mix, and chill it for a bit.

    After a couple of hours in the fridge you're good to go.
  Here's how it all looked on the table.

     More to come, including A Tale of Two Cauliflower, The Price Is Right! Plus a Giveaway! Of delicious Tropical Traditions Shredded Coconut! Keep reading for more!